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SPRING FEVER

Students at Bryn Mawr College are reporting severe amounts of overcrowding in their libraries given the recent shift to spring weather. As temperatures outside climb to almost 80 degrees, students are crammed into the tiny study spaces on campus. The scene is vicious, with bags clutched close to chests, computer plugs held menancingly near the outlets, and intelligent young adults reduced to snarling beasts in their competition for seats in the library. “Ever since the sun came out, and the flowers started to blossom,” reports Sara King, a biology major in 2018, “you just can’t keep people out of the libraries. It’s really stressful, knowing how full the buildings are, when all you want to do is focus on your schoolwork and ignore the sun-filled campus.” Students have been complaining about the school-wide increase in work ethic ever since a few days in February climbed above 50 degrees and one or two trees on campus sprouted confused buds. But is it really all about the weather?

admitted student Akili Davis works in Carpenter library: “I couldn’t believe how crowded it was in there, and how focused I felt on the campus. I’m definitely considering Bryn Mawr, but this spring fever has got me worried.”

“Oh, definitely,” says Jamie-Lynn DiDomenico, 2018, “everyone here just hates fun, and sunshine, and flowers, so as soon as spring rolls around, the libraries fill right up. It’s even affecting the students in my graduate school classes–I’ve never seen such perfect attendance. It’s just frustrating.” Students also say that their professors aren’t helping the problem–when a Haverford student suggested they take their lecture outside, Professor Don of the French department was reportedly so horrified that she completely forgot how to speak French, spending the rest of the class trying to communicate only in German. Maya Bhalla-Ladd, 2019, expressed confusion about her ecology professor’s antics when she asked if they’d be visiting the trees on campus again. “She just stared at me and then laughed,” the first-year biology major hopeful said, “and asked if we’d rather just go to Collier to look at slides. Everyone said yes, of course–who wants to be outside, where it’s warm, when we could be in the science library?”

Carpenter Library

As students raced across campus to their classes, never pausing for photographs of the lines of cherry blossom trees erupting into bloom, this reporter was able to stop one student who said they were “a die-hard library go-er.” Maggie Alvarez, an English major of the class of 2017, had a lot of complaints about the recent influx of studiers. “I’ve seen this every year–classic spring fever,” the co-president of Nimbus, the literary and arts magazine sighed, “it’s really hard on dedicated library folks like myself. We’re in there year-round, even when the weather is terrible outside! But now, when the sun is shining, there’s really nothing on anybody’s minds but studying. You can barely get tables in the main libraries–I’ve got a few secret study spots I prefer myself for when times get tough. And no, I won’t tell you where they are–just know there’s a window seat involved. I’ve gotta go–I’ve got a great idea for a snapchat story, but I don’t want to do it until I’ve finished all the work I could possibly think of.” They rushed off, muttering about starting a draft of their thesis months early.

Leyla Fahim, 2018, claims that her recent motivation to excel in physics can only be attributed to how ridiculously beautiful it is outside. “I really struggle with focusing, but when there’s weather like this, you can’t get me out of the library. There’s just nothing better I could be doing–why would I go for a hike in the woods or have a picnic when I could be tackling problem sets and re-reading chapters on mathematical theories?” She acknowledged, however, that the new surge of energy wouldn’t last. Come finals, she said, “I’ll definitely be doing something way more interesting and important than studying, like spinning a stick in circles or bleaching my roommate’s hair. The weather effect will have worn off by then, and we’ll be able to procrastinate again, thank goodness.” At press time, she’d finished her work for the next two and a half weeks, and was frantically trying to shove her computer charger into an outlet already being used by three other students.

Leyla Fahim, 2018, hard at work amidst the crowds

Some students expressed confusion at the notion of spring fever. “What do you mean, it’s spring?” demanded Solana Adonis, class of 2018. “What cherry blossoms? I’m late for being 10 minutes early to class, get out of my way!” she added, before running off towards Carpenter, seemingly oblivious to the picturesque alley of trees that shrouded the walkway. On other college campuses, one might see students lounging about in the sun, playing frisbee, or organizing elaborate photoshoots to capture the spectacular beauty of their campus, but here at Bryn Mawr, schoolwork clearly is foremost on the minds of everyone.

takeout meals are preferred in this spring weather, because of how quickly students can resume studying.